We’ve got a lot happening here at Mild Sauce and as we get it all smoothed out between the radio, streaming tv and regular features we’re doing our best to catch up with everything on a regular basis. This time around we have plenty of updates from around Chicagoland including a local label getting some new resources, an artist leaves a longstanding partnership and Towkio and the gang stopped by Fallon for a performance. Check it all out below.
Tink Leaves Timabaland
IT’s being reported this week that Chicago rapper Tink, who first broke through to the mainstream in 2014 with a cosign from Grammy-winning producer Timbaland, has decided to go her own route moving forward. She signed to Mosley Music Group/Epic in 2014 and was seen by many as the next big name to emerge from Chicago in the wake of Chief Keef, Chance and Vic Mensa at the time. Alas, the songs never quite came the way they were built up on the front end and it appears they parted ways at the end of last year. The revelation was announced in a FADER story. While she may be on her own these days, we can attest to seeing her working diligently across the city, she’s been a regular in the studio and it appears we’ll be hearing some new work very soon. Stay tuned for more.
Towkio Plays Goes To Space, Plays Fallon
I think its safe to say Towkio had the best February. After two years of working on his follow-up to 2015’s .Wav Theory, the Chicago native and SaveMoney representative let the floodgates loose over the last couple of weeks, launching to space in a balloon and capsule one week to announce his album, WWW. and then playing Jimmy Fallon’s The Tonight Show alongside Peter CottonTale, Stix, Carter Lang and Teddy Jackson. In between, his project dropped, which is so far sounding like one of the year’s best. It’s been a whirlwind week for the former Tokyo Shawn, and we’re sure he has plenty more in store. Check out last night’s performance below.
Closed Sessions Inks Deal with Fat Possum
While it’s not always talked about, the emerging and evolving ecosystem of studios, indie labels and behind the scenes players here in Chicago has had a lot to do with the rise of the artists that have come out of the scene. At perhaps the epicenter of that movement has been independent hip-hop label Closed Sessions, which over the weekend announced a partnership with Mississippi-based Fat Possum Records.
The deal, specifically with the House Arrest subsidiary, reportedly will allow the local label to allow added distribution opportunities to its growing roster of artists. They currently have Kweku Collins, WebsterX, Femdot, OddCouple, Boat House and Kipp Stone on, but have worked with the likes of NoName, Jamila Woods, ShowYouSuck and many more over the years. In a joint statement, owners Mike Kolar and Alex Fruchter explained the move: ”Joining House Arrest gives us a distribution partner that will not only get our music into stores and online retailers, but can also mentor us in how to grow and scale our company,” CS founders Alex Fruchter and Michael Kolar said in a joint statement.
With Femi’s project on the horizon, new resources at their fingertips and and ever-evolving set of tools, the guys over at CS seem to be continuing to move in the right direction. Keep an eye out for much more soon.